


Beachcomber Blues

by Jaakkola



Series: Jaakko Listened to a Song and Wrote About It (and Now That's Your Problem) [8]
Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Gift Giving, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:13:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29411040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaakkola/pseuds/Jaakkola
Summary: I've been digging through the sandFilling my bucket up with things that might be goldThe skin on both my hands is rubbing raw and the numbness is the only thing between me and the coldBut I ain't going home until find something worthy of youWashed up on the shore from somewhere out among the blueShaw has been called to action, and Flynn goes beachcombing in his absence.
Relationships: Flynn Fairwind/Mathias Shaw
Series: Jaakko Listened to a Song and Wrote About It (and Now That's Your Problem) [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967953
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	Beachcomber Blues

**Author's Note:**

> [obligatory song link](https://thenarcissistcookbook.bandcamp.com/track/beachcomber-blues-solo)

Flynn drew his hands through the sand, searching with a laid back pace. He'd find some, it'd just be a matter of when, and how long he could withstand the numbness in his fingers.

The wind from the west blew cold, buffeting Flynn as he walked the beach. The stray hairs not tamed in his tail whipped wildly, and he tried in vain to keep them behind his ears, but it never was long before they came loose once again. Flynn didn't let it bother him too much.

If Taelia was here, she would remark that he would catch a cold before he found what he was looking for, hiding her worry and care in a teasing tone. But she wasn't, she was off in Stormwind, personally reporting the taking of the Lord Admiral to King Anduin. Rumor was he was taken too, but the letters Flynn sent to Shaw on the matter went unanswered, either out of being too busy to do so, or more likely, he didn't want to either explain the issue or lie to Flynn.

Flynn remembered that morning. It was chilly, as the sun still had yet to rise, but it was warm under the covers with Shaw in his arms. Someone banging on the front door of Shaw's little cabin roused them both from sleep, and Flynn could only grumble with annoyance and pull Shaw closer. "If that's your neighbors," he had murmured to Shaw, "I might kill them."

"Same," Shaw mumbled back before he pulled himself from Flynn's grasp. With a stretch and a pop of the joints, he rose to his feet and searched around for clothes. The knocking became louder, more insistent, and Shaw called out, "I'm coming."

"Shaw!" the person from the other side of the door exclaimed, and while Flynn didn't recognize the voice, Shaw sure seemed to. With a curse, Shaw hastened his efforts to dress himself, pulling on some linen trousers and heading to the door. Flynn sat up to spy a goblin on the other side of the door before Shaw had exited and closed the door firmly behind him.

Flynn was alone for ten minutes, but in that time, he dressed himself and gathered his things, guessing where the conversation was going. By the time Shaw returned, a heavy weariness to his expression, Flynn was all ready to go, and Shaw's expression just seemed to worsen when he realized that. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Don't be," Flynn said. "We both knew this might happen." That didn't seem to help Shaw's melancholy, and Flynn felt himself frowning as Shaw went off and finished dressing himself. "Can I ask what the dire news is?"

Shaw was silent for a moment. "The Knights of the Ebon Blade are heading north."

Flynn blinked. "The death knights?"

"Yes. Their necropolis has left the Broken Isles."

Flynn had spoken to a death knight before; one of the Alliance's champions was one and every once in a while they'd join on an expedition. Quiet folk, up until they had something to kill in front of them—Flynn had made a mental note to never cross one very quickly. They didn't seem like ones to do something frivolous, especially like moving an entire necropolis for no reason. "What's so important up north?"

"Something has forced them to act, and the possibilities are… concerning."

"Like what?"

Shaw didn't answer that one, and he packed up his things in silence. "We'll head to Stromgarde. There should still be a mage there that can get us to Boralus, and then I will get to Stormwind from there."

I, he had said. Meaning not Flynn. Perhaps that was fair; if things were about to go keel up, Flynn being there might be a distraction, but it didn't help tamper down the indignant feeling that burned in him at the time. "Not going with the goblin?" he asked.

"He's already on his way back to Stormwind."

Storm clouds had darkened the sky, and while Flynn loved a good storm while on land, now it felt ominous. "Bad omen," he murmured as they made their way to the rebuilt city.

"Usually I'd call that superstition," Shaw had replied, "but I can't find myself disagreeing."

Sure enough, there was a 7th Legion mage stationed there, summoning a portal with a familiar sight out into Boralus. Flynn followed Shaw through, finding themselves landing out near the flightmaster at the harbor. There was a sense of unease and panic in the air, and it put Flynn on edge. Shaw was glancing around with a shrewd look, trying to figure out what was wrong. Vendors were in a panic, and people were glancing up towards the stormy with worry and shock.

"Master Shaw!" Taelia's voice cut through the chaos, and both Flynn and Shaw turned to see Taelia running up towards them, the same worry and panic in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Lady Taelia?" Shaw asked, his tone strong and firm, as if he was trying to instill calmness into the situation just by speaking.

"The Lord Admiral was taken," she said. Flynn took a sharp breath.

"By what?" Shaw asked.

"I— I don't know," she confessed. "I've never seen anything like it, they were… people with these dark wings. They came from the sky and grabbed her with chains."

There was a brief look of unadulterated panic in Shaw's eyes at that, but he managed to compose himself quickly. "Come with me to Stormwind," he said to her. "I have a feeling this isn't a coincidence." Taelia gave a confused look at that. She glanced to Flynn, and he just shrugged in return. "Meet me in the portal room," he said.

"Aye, sir," she said with a nod, immediately departing.

Shaw turned to Flynn, pain and regret in his features. Flynn loathed to see him like this. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"Don't be," Flynn said. "I get it."

Shaw closed the gap between them, taking Flynn into a tight hug. Flynn hugged back, burying his head into Shaw's shoulder. Tides knew when he'd see the man again.

They part far too quickly, Shaw pressing a kiss to Flynn before pulling from him entirely. Despite his feelings, Flynn smiled and said, "Go, go save the day."

Shaw's smile was smaller, sadder. "I'll settle for doing my job."

And that was the last Flynn saw of Mathias Shaw.

Since then, there were rumors of the undead rising once again in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, attacking in full force. Why, exactly, seemed to be known to no one, but Flynn had a feeling that Shaw knew. He knew those sort of things, and if Flynn wasn't supposed to know that, then that was fine, he just wanted some sort of response letting him know that Shaw was doing alright.

"Patience," he murmured to himself on the sandy beach. There were storm clouds rolling in now. He wouldn't be able to stay out for long, but the thought of leaving before he found something perfect was criminal.

Taelia would call him lonely, if she saw him out here now. Perhaps maybe it seemed like that, Flynn walking a beach out in the Sound alone, searching for something worthy enough, but he hardly felt lonely. He was just… determined.

"Ah ha!" Flynn exclaimed as he found something off-colored in the sand. He bent down, numb fingers digging through the sand and pulling up a piece of bottle green sea glass, the strange, smoothed texture. He examined it, holding it up to the light and looking at it. Shaw had remarked, offhandedly, that he had never found sea glass before. Flynn thought that to be downright criminal, considering he had a jar filled with pieces he found while stumbling drunk on the shoreline.

Flynn put it in his pocket, letting it rest beside the three other pieces as the wind blasted him even harder. He pulled his coat closer as he shivered. With great reluctance, he headed back to Boralus, having to be content with what he found before the storm hit.

It took three weeks after Flynn sent off a handful of sea glass to Shaw for him to get a response, just long enough for him to be convinced he wasn't getting one. A small package, wrapped in cloth and a note tied to it, was pressed into his hands by a courier bidding him a good day without another word. Flynn raised an eyebrow and looked at the note, a smile crossing his face. _Technically, I still haven't found any sea glass,_ it said in that perfect penmanship that was Shaw's.

His smile only widened as he pulled the cloth off, revealing a small carved figure of a Tirassian swallow, so detailed that it could only be made with a loving hand.


End file.
